Now that Pope Francis has confirmed that he will visit Philadelphia in conjunction with the 2015 World Meeting of Families, what's the best way to see him?

Depends. If you just want a glimpse, you likely will be able to see him on a motorcade route. But for a fuller and richer experience of the wildly popular pontiff, you'll want to be on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway outside the Philadelphia Art Museum, where Francis will attend the Festival of Families on Saturday, Sept. 26, and celebrate Mass the next day.

It might be a distant view. Both events are expected to draw more than 1 million people. Pope St. John Paul II drew about that number to a Mass he celebrated in Logan Circle during his 1979 visit to the city.

At a news conference Monday at the art museum, city and state officials exulted over Francis' making official what had long been presumed — that his first U.S. visit would coincide with the conference, where 10,000 to 15,000 delegates from 150 nations will discuss divorce, child-rearing, sexual identity, disability, poverty and other issues facing families. These topics have been at the forefront of Francis' pontificate and were the focus of the recent bishops' synod in Rome.

Francis might also visit New York City and Washington, D.C., but the Vatican has not confirmed those possibilities. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, head of the Vatican's permanent observer mission to the United Nations, told The Associated Press that "if he comes to Philadelphia, he will come to New York."

If so, that gives Lehigh Valley residents another chance to see him. Plenty of locals traveled to the city for the visit by Francis' predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in 2008.

On that visit, the best chance for a glimpse of Benedict was along the lengthy motorcade routes. Probably far more people saw him that way than saw him at the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium.

But it's too early to suggest good vantage points for Francis' Philadelphia visit.

The Festival of Families and the Mass will both be open to the public, according to a statement from the World Meeting of Families. It is unclear whether there will be a ticketing system or reserved seating for the Mass.

Donna Crilley Farrell, executive director of the World Meeting, said it would probably be spring or summer before travel routes and other details are made public. She pointed out that the itinerary for Francis' January visit to the Philippines has just been released.

Officials said preparations had already been under way for the meeting and now will kick into higher gear with the addition of Francis, who will become the fourth pontiff to visit the United States. Benedict and John Paul II were preceded by Pope Paul VI, who addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York in 1965.

Philadelphia is no stranger to handling massive crowds at the art museum and Ben Franklin Parkway. It's where the city holds its annual Fourth of July festivities. John Paul II's Logan Circle Mass was celebrated at the opposite end of the parkway from the art museum.

"We're working on the logistics of how facilities get set up," Mayor Michael Nutter said. "Every event has to work and work well, but every event is put together with safety in mind. We know, obviously, the Ben Franklin Parkway can hold a lot of people, but you have to situate them. … Who gets where, how do you get them there, how will people access the parkway, how do streets get shut down, how do we communicate with people? This is a massive undertaking."

One thing is certain: the regional hospitality industry — hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions — will be stretched to the limit. Anticipating that rooms will be impossible to come by before long, event organizers are asking families in the region to accept guests for the week of the meeting.

Meeting officials had already booked rooms at more than two dozen city hotels for attendees, but that was before it was certain the pope was coming.

That changes everything.

"I would start now trying to get a room and I would be persistent," said Ed Grose, director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association. "You might have to stay further out. If Center City doesn't meet your price range, try the Philadelphia International Airport area, Valley Forge, South Jersey."

Grose said there are 11,500 hotel rooms in Center City and 39,000 in a five-county region around the city, so he wouldn't be surprised to see demand for rooms reach the Lehigh Valley.

It may seem hopeless, but cancellations are always a possibility, "so the persistent person will probably get a room" relatively close to the event, Grose said.

People who have already booked rooms for the original days of the meeting and now want to extend their stay for Francis' visit may be out of luck — unless they are willing to pay more. That's because hotels will want to raise rates rather than let guests extend their stays at existing rates.

That's just one example of the difference Francis will make to the bottom line of countless businesses. The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau had estimated the meeting would generate about $15 million in economic impact if the pope didn't come.

With him, that rises to about $230 million.

"What a moment for all of us who love Philadelphia and champion it as a world-class city," said Daniel J. Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross and a co-chairman of the World Meeting of Families executive leadership cabinet. "We must seize this wonderful opportunity as a moment of civic pride and deliver an event for the world that we all know we can. … We must ensure that Philadelphia not only embraces the global stage but remains on it for years to come after his visit."

Bishop John O. Barres of the Catholic Diocese of Allentown, who will likely participate in the Papal Mass, called the visit "a real blessing to all of us who live and work so close to Philadelphia."

Francis "is a dynamic spiritual leader who has energized the faith of Catholics around the world," Barres said in a statement. "That the Holy Father will be as close to us as Philadelphia will be a moment of great grace and will benefit the Catholic Church in this diocese, and all people of good will, in ways that will resonate well into the future."

Local Catholics may be able to attend the papal visit through parish or diocesan arrangements, but those won't be made until further details are available.

"We don't know yet know the logistics of the big weekend events," spokesman Matt Kerr said by email. "When we get those details, we'll be better able to judge how we can help parishioners of the diocese who want to participate."

•Registration for the World Meeting of Families opened last week. Information, including details on how to open your home to visitors, is available at: http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/plan-your-visit/register/

•Where: Pope Francis will attend the Festival of Families on Sept. 26 and celebrate Mass on Sept. 27 outside the Philadelphia Art Museum. The Mass is expected to draw 1 million people to Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The events will conclude the Sept. 22-27 World Meeting of Families, where participants from around the world will discuss crises affecting family life.

•Pope Francis may also visit New York City and Washington, D.C., during his first trip to the United States, but the Vatican has not confirmed those plans.